Discussion here is limited to an input voltage
maximum of 16-volts because that is the design limit of our N8101. For model
railroading this includes typical (rectified DCC) track voltages for Z, N, and HO scales.

The advantages of DCC for model railroad
operation over straight DC (analog) operation are well documented and too
numerous to mention here. One advantage is the ability for full power to be
available at the tracks even when rolling stock (including locomotives) is just
sitting quietly on the tracks. Without going into much detail, the DCC signal on
your track looks like AC. This is because like AC, with respect to "ground"
(zero voltage reference point), this signal also goes negative (minus volts).
This is one of the reasons DCC will allow you to run different locomotives in
opposite directions on the same section of track, at the same time. Truly
marvelous, but a problem for devices that require polarity-constant DC voltage,
such as our LEDs and lighting special effects
Simulators. Fortunately,
there are two solutions to this problem and both are inexpensive:

Discrete components

Since DCC track power "looks" like AC to a polarity sensitive DC device, it
must be routed through a full-wave (bridge) rectifier. This bridge converts the
voltage to +DC always on the bridge's + pin and DC (ground) always on the
bridge's  pin. Either of our bridge rectifiers (our N301S or N302S) will work just
fine. In addition, a filter capacitor (10μf or
larger and minimum 16-volt) will be required. This is used to smooth out the
"bumps" in the converted DC voltage. Figure 1 below is schematic
diagram of the connections required and shows the bridge connected to one of our
Simulators..

Figure 1

This is the least expensive solution, but is has a couple of
minor drawbacks. First, the bridge rectifier and capacitor are not
mounted on a circuit board so direct solder connection is required and you will
need to ensure the pins on the rectifier and leads on the capacitor (depending
on the type of capacitor) are organized so that they won't short out
against anything. Second, depending on the physical size of the bridge and
capacitor selected, and the scale you're modeling, hiding these
additional components so they're not noticeable can be a bit of a challenge
(visualize a FRED and a flatcar).

N8101 DC Power Source

A more elegant, but very slightly more costly ($3.95) solution would be to
use our N8101 DC Power Source. It has all of the components needed, includes a
circuit board with solder points, is extremely tiny (1/2 the size of our
Simulator), it also has an additional solder point
for direct connection of an LED plus solder pads on the back of the board for
the LED's current protection/brightness control resistor.

Shown in Figure 2 below, is an
example of the N8101 wired to a Simulator and using the optional LED connection
(solder point 5). Note the LED's anode connection to 5 and its cathode
connection to 3 on the N8101. This LED could actually be a series group if the
rectified input voltage is sufficient to support multiple LEDs). Again, the resistor
soldered to the solder pads on the back of the N8101 should be chosen for
protection of the LED (or series group) at expected rectified voltage. An easy
way to determine this voltage is to temporarily connect an N8101's input solder
points to your DCC track and measure the DC voltage present at the N8101's
output solder points 3 and 4. This reading is the voltage to use
for your calculation.

Figure 2

In the example above, we could add
additional Simulators by connecting their inputs to solder points 3 and 4 of the
N8101, just as the one above. Or, we could add additional LEDs (or series
groups) by connected them to solder points 3 and 4 (not to 3 and 5).
These additional LEDs will need their own resistors wired in series with them.

The limiting factor for the number of
devices (Simulators and/or LEDs) connected to an N8101's output pins 3 and 4 is
that the total current usage for all devices added together must not exceed
200ma.

Flicker control

The short answer is: Special effects
lighting typically doesn't require as much flicker protection as "always-on
lighting, and is some cases may not require any.

A more in-depth explanation follows:

When including devices that produce special
lighting effects, such as our Simulators, the term "flicker" really needs to be
defined a bit more accurately. In a typical model railroading environment,
"flicker" is the result of momentary power loss to rolling stock lighting such
as passenger car interior lights, caboose marker lights, or locomotive lighting.
These are normally lights that are on all of the time. When dirty track, wheel
sets, or track gaps cause temporary power loss, the flicker that occurs is quite
noticeable. This is a classical case of flicker. Controlling this pesky
problem is performed by adding a capacitor or capacitors to the circuit which
"charge up" under normal track power, and drain into the circuit to keep the
lights on during momentary power losses. Depending on the type and number of
lights (and track voltage level) the amount of capacitance required to eliminate
the flicker problem (either totally, or mostly) can be up to as high as 1000μf
for circuits with multiple lights. Capacitor requirements for good flicker
control for most single-light circuits, typically ranges from 300μf to 600μf.
Again, this value totally depends on how much current the light or lights draw
and how long the period of time is that the capacitor(s) must provide power.

With special effects lighting, when power is
interrupted, a Simulator's microcontroller is reset causing the effect to
restart. Depending on the particular effect, this reset may or may not
appear very obvious, and as a result may or may not be objectionable to the
observer. When a Simulator is powered through one of our N8101 DC Power Source
modules, the tiny 10μf capacitor on-board the N8101 is not
large enough to keep a microcontroller from resetting. This capacitor is
primarily for filtering of DCC and AC rectified input voltage. The addition of
external capacitor(s) would (might) be required.

Now, unlike the very obvious
flicker with always-on lighting, two things are quite different with effects
lighting. First, with very few exceptions (ditchlights and steam-era class
lights come to mind), the special effect either varies lighting intensity (i.e.
marslights and gyralights), turns lights on and off (FREDs, flashers and
strobes), or some combination of both (beacons, alternating flashers, etc.).
Second, very little power is required to keep a Simulator's microcontroller
alive (about 1/2ma at 2.1-2.2 volts). The simulator's on-board regulator draws a
little power, but it is minimal. When power is momentarily lost, if the
associated lighting for the effect is on, that light source will be responsible
for nearly all of the power drain in the circuit. One 2-volt 20ma LED draws
40 times as much power as the microcontroller. A 3.3-3-6 volt LED will draw
60 times as much. If the effect is in the off mode, only the
microcontroller is drawing power. So... how much external capacitance is needed
with special effects lighting? It...depends.., but, for the most part, not
nearly as much as always-on lighting.

The old saying: "beauty is in the
eyes of the beholder", really comes into play here. The "it...depends" really
depends on the type of effect and how it "appears" when power is momentarily
interrupted. Figure 3, below shows where additional capacitance would be added
to a typical lighting special effects circuit.

Figure 3

The capacitor or capacitors are connected across
the DC output (Simulator input) as shown. If multiple capacitors are used (i.e.
our small 100μf N3100 capacitors), they must be wired in
parallel with each other (all of the + connections jumpered together, and all of
the  connections jumpered together).

Rating the "need" for capacitance

Below is a what we would call a
starting point for the determination of adding capacitance to a lighting effects
circuit. We've rated the "need" from least to most based on what is likely to
have visual impact on the realism of the effect. While this is our opinion, it
should only be treated as a guideline, because beauty really is "in the eyes of
the beholder". What is truly important, is how the effect appears to you.

The N8101 is well suited to provide
constant-polarity DC power for general lighting of model railroad rolling stock.
This would include passenger car and caboose interior lighting, marker lights in
general and locomotive cab, class, and number board lights. Its low-loss
schottky bridge rectifier and multi-layer filter capacitor will provide clean DC
to polarity sensitive devices like our LEDs. Having a current carrying
capacity of 200ma, the N8101 is powerful enough to support any typical rolling
stock lighting requirement with room to spare. As noted above, the on-board 10μf
filter capacitor is not intended to provide any meaningful flicker control.
External capacitor(s) are required for that purpose. The diagram in Figure 3
covers the connection of capacitors to the N8101's output solder points.

When wiring passenger cars for
interior lighting (in most cases, multiple LEDs), we always recommend wiring the
LEDs in parallel with each having a protection resistor selected based on
rectified track voltage. If you need to review parallel LED wiring, more
information is available here.

Other power needs

While the vast majority of track
powered applications for rolling stock (other than motors in locomotives)
is lighting, there are certainly other cases where polarity sensitive devices
might need power. Since the N8101 can handle up to 350mW of power, this
could include tiny motors, solenoids or other DC actuators, or miniature
circuitry to perform various functions. The N8101's tiny size will allow it to
be place just about anywhere.